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Monday, November 8, 2010

Some thoughts on Combat

So Combat.. one of the most requested features. To tell you the truth making a combat system is that tough. Sure I will probably need the help of about all the graphic designers on the board to make it look pretty. But the actual creation is rather just math and menus... simple.

The major problem is what comes next, an arena is easy. But the actual world exporation is the difficult part. I want it to be random dungeon exploration with 2 major dungeons (the green and the pit). And there are a few diferent versions that come to mind.

1) The tile system(I'm making these names up btw), where you click from room to room like Slavemaker and that futanari Miko game... which I can't for the life of me remeber. Advantages its the standard flash room exploration, real pain though to do random and its not very first person.

2) The first person shooter dungeon wall version. Go play a really early D&D game or Lightning Warrior Rady and you will get it. Basically lots of repeating walls that you arrow though, and in the end make me nauseous. All the walls look the same but easy to build hard to random.

3) 16 bit the world moves and you stand still. About any normal early final fantasy 16 bit when you move the world holds still. I have no idea really how to implement it. And building a random system would take a while.

4) Big room then another big room then another big room that you arrow through. Think, damn it what was the name of the game where you could be 4 classes and just advance room after room killing mobs and taking there keys, except with random combat in a seprate RPG Combat screen. Probably the one I'm leaning towards randoming it will be easy and easy to change the backgrounds.

No matter what this will be the time consuming part of combat, not the acutal combat system itself. And a dull boring exploration wil be a long dull boring exploration and no one wants that. So what do you guys think?

I am all for 2 or 3. you can clean up 2 and make it bearable. so how about instead of a tile by tile random dungeon (diablo style) how about just making 3+ dungeons and randomize those. SO the first area for the pit is the sewers of magmell the sewers has three different maps it can be per character load (each new character). And considering there should be about 10 areas per dungeon it should make enough variation for a decent replay value.

I think that for the green, a layout similar to the tentacle lair (the event where your slave is abducted by tentacles and you go to the rescue) in SM should be suitable. The layout randomnization in the greens should be similar too since that thing is an everchanging living thing (kinda) so it should change its layout every time you go to explore it.

For the pits however, I think it should have a bit less layout randomnisation, but instead with more random encounters and random findings, of course exploring the interior of the pits should be a far more dangerous experiense (and it should be more dangerous the deeper you explore) than exploring the greens (because at any time a bosslike monster could cross a dimensional rift just over your head -or in your only way to the exit- and then kick your ass).

I think that while the Green is random, and should change every day, that the Pit wouldn't change much at all. The layout would be the same, the difference would be what you can find. The farther in the pit, the more exotic (and dangerous) things there would be to see.

With the Green, I wouldn't expect much in there expect tentacle-type creatures, so why even bother going in? Plant extracts for the merchants perhaps? But that I would see changing every time you go in and needing the randomization.

The main question, style of dungeon, I would have to say that I like the idea of having a map of where you've gone on that trek. That leans me towards 1, however, I also like 2. Combine them, that you have a map that you click to move, and it shows the 'rooms'that you've seen, while the main screen shows the actual room/area? Not sure if that would be too much of a pain to code though.